Key retainer



E. W. EGGEBRECHT.

KEY RETAINER. APPLICATION FILED DEC 2 1.1921.

Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

Emil W. Eggeb-rec'ht Inventor Attorneys.

Patented Get. 24, 1922.

ev RETAINER.

Application filed December 21, 1921. Serial No. 523,814.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EMIL WV. EGGEBREOHT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of lVisconsin, have invented a certain new and'usefullmp rovement in Key Retainers; and I do declare the following to-be a clear, exact,=and com plete description thereof, such as willfe'nable others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing for an illustration of some forms in which my invention has been embodied.

My invention relates to devices of that class which are employed for the purpose of retaining keys in the locks of passage doors.

It is embodied in a convenient form, and when used in conjunction with a key! which operates to lock the door of a room from the inside, a sense of security is given to the occupant of the room, who is enabled to rest free from the disturbing thought that there may be an unwarranted intru- The device is portable, and of such simple construction that it may be included within the kit of a person who travels, and therefore conveniently at hand for use at any time that it may be desired to prevent the door being opened by an unauthorized person.

The novel feature of my invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings which accompany this specification Figure 1 is a view in elevation of the edge of a portion of a door having inserted therein a mortise lock of usual construction, and showing the manner of using my invention in connection therewith, parts of the lock being broken out to make the operation clear.

Figure 2 is a plan view of one form of the key retaining device.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation thereof.

Figure 4 is a view in elevation of a modilied construction of the device.

In the drawings the numeral 10 indicates a portion of a door, in the edge 11 of which is inserted a mortise lock 12 of any usual construction. The door illustrated is presumed to be a passage door controlling the ingress to a room, the occupant of which presumably is uncertain as to the security from intrusion afforded by the lock with which the door is equipped.

My invention resides in a simple device which is designed to prevent the key of the lock from being rotated, from the outside of the room, so that when locked by the occupant of the room, the key cannot be rotated to unlock the door except after removal of the retaining device from its engagement with the lock and the key. i

The retaining device is comprised of a sprin member'13, free at oneend and con nectec at the other to a shank 14, the shank being adapted to be inserted in the key hole in position to be engaged by the bit of the key, in the event that an attempt is made to turn the key in the lock. The free end of the spring member 18 is inserted through the eye in the handle of the key, and by reason of its expansive nature, acts to draw the bit of the key into engagement with the inner side of one of the plates of the lock.

The tension upon the key thus produced by the action of the spring, serves to establish a frictional engagement of the bit of the key with the plate of the lock, so that any attempt to turn the key within the limitations produced by the insertion of the shank 14 in the key hole, will cause the bit of the key to draw over the plate of the lock and create a creaking sound which is more apt to alarm the intruder than it is to disturb the occupant of the room, if the latter be sleeping.

The shank 14L may be provided on its lower edge with a plurality of notches 15, which are designed to have engagement with the: plate of the lock and the escutcheon, so that the-said shank cannot be pushed out of the lock by the application of pressure from the outside. The free end of the spring member 13 engages the eye in the handle of the key at a point on a line somewhat above the horizontal plane of the shank 14, wit-h the result that the angular pressure exerted by the said spring acts to firmly seat the shank 14: in its engaging position. I

A chain 16 may be connected to the key retaining device in any convenient manner, as by an eye 17 attached thereto. The chain may he provided with a hook 18, which. may be conveniently hung over the shank of the door knob, so that the key retaining device will be in position for instant use in the event that the room is occupied for consecutive periods of time.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I have shown the member 13 as formed from flat spring material, and encircled at one end by a closed loop, the ends of which are brought together in parallelism to form the shank 14 but it will be understood that other methods of producing a juncture of the parts 13 and 1 1 ma be restorted to.

n Figure at I have shown the member 131 as formed from spring wire, with an intermediate loop 182 to increase its flexibility. In this construction, the shank 14: may be applied as before.

In both constructions, the free end of the spring member is provided with a bend 19, forming the recess in which the ring form,- ing the handle of the key rests, this feature of construction being for the purpose of preventing the spring member from accidental disengagement with the key.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. A key retaining device, formed as an expansive spring member, one end of which is adapted to engage the lock and the other the key, to exert frictional engagement between the key and the lock.

2. 'A key retaining device having a. shank for insertion in the key hole of the lock to prevent turning of the key, and an expansive spring member attached thereto and engaging the key to engage the latter frictionally with the lock.

3. A key retaining device formed with a spring member exerting anoutward pressure up onthe key and a notched shank for insertion in the key hole to engage the plate of the lock and prevent rotation of the key.

4. A key retaining device comprising a shank for insertion in the key hole of the lock to prevent rotation of the key, and a spring member extending from'the shank for engaging the key, the saidspring member being provided with a recess or notch to prevent disengagement from the key.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name at Milwaukee this 17th dayot DGQBHF ber, 1921. i V

Eli 1.1L W EGGEBREOHT.

Witnesses: i

IV. F. IVooLAm),

(I. G; KoNor. 

